Major Garden Cleanup.

Well today I can hardly move my muscles, as they have really given up after another hard week of cleaning up under the citrus trees, to begin with earlier in the week,

A mess of ferns and nasturiums

Before all overgrown and Ivy on the fence

It is not very hard, just takes a lot of time, but finally cleaned it all up and roughly dug over. I am going to plants lots of flowers, then mulch with bark or similar. Such a difference makes it all worthwhile.

After

Last bit left, has couch grass.

As for the other side on Saturday,Miss P helped me do some of it, then the eldest son who had arrived  earlier and decided to pull the lemon tree stump once it was cut back again, and taken out completely.

Notice the "overgrown stump" on the right

Looking towards the house

This tree was very well established in the ground and needed a block and tackle to get it out plus a lot of heavy yakka. I was quite worried for my son as he is just getting over the flu, and breathing quite heavily. There is no way John could have done this. 

Same view looking towards the house. Bulbs are snowdrops

The tree left is on a slant so hopefully John can rig up something to straighten it up. Plenty of fruit on it and I keep it well pruned to reaching height. Mind you I still have frozen juice from last year. Bits of the stump roots are still there so will paint with poison just to make sure they don't regrow. I don't want anyone to go through that again.

Out the front under the Frangipani Miss P and I started this area first on Saturday, and then that was when our son first arrived and helped.

Front area joining next door.

 This weed plus the horrible Elderberry that runs and has been pulled out quite a few times, has taken over again so all this was dug up including a very large Tumeric plant, beyond the Frangipani and just shy of where the dogs are buried. They stayed safe thank goodness. 

The only way to beat this Elderberry, is to paint poison on the leaves as they come up, so when Miss P arrives that is the first thing to check

Next week if time, I will dig everything over and pick out all the Tumeric left as well.

Between the Frangipani and the Protea was a giant Tumeric plant

Street to the Frangipani, where luckily 2 roses survived. Plus some bromeliads were pulled out as overgrown.

To fill this area, I have decided to invest in some shrubs like azalea, move a poinsettia from the back, maybe another daisy, geraniums, anything that just needs pruning, but will look nice all year. Really fill it with stuff so the weeds wont' have room to grow. The extra person though was such a great help, to Miss P and I, made all the difference.

Unfortunately the very old grass tree on the bank, hasn't survived so that was pulled out as well.

I also took off the Snail plant from the Archway, which will get another coat of paint to smarten it up.

All in all it has been a very busy week, and I will take several days to get over it.The worst of it is over now thank goodness, just tidying and planting for Spring to do.  Filled two green waste wheely bins though, and enough stuff to do a third for next week. I hope your winter cleanup is going just as well. 

Off to Bunnings now to see what I can find, with two $50 Gift Cards. Woo Hoo.

Till Next Time.